GIFT   ©F 


n.c.OLcl  t*^**/* 


PRIMARY 
DEVICES 


BY 


MYRA  KING 

AUTHOR  OF  "LANGUAGE  GAMES"  AND 
i"TALES  OUT  OF  SCHOOL" 


INTRODUCTIONS  BY 

DR.  E.  C.  MOORE,  J.  B.  MONLUX 
M.  C.  BETTINGER 


WAYSIDE  PRESS 
LOS  ANGELES,  CALIFORNIA 


COPYRIGHT,  1918 

BY 
MYRA  KING 


INTRODUCTION 

LOS  ANGELES  CITY  SCHOOLS 
OFFICE  OF  THE  SUPERINTENDENT 

Testimonials. 

Miss  King's  little  book  will  be  an  aid  to  anyone  who  will 
read  it  thoughtfully.  She  is  a  wise  teacher  who  has  medi- 
tated on  what  it  means  to  teach,  and  has  arrived  at  under- 
standing. I  know  that  what  she  has  written  here,  will 
be  of  use  to  others.  It  is  particularly  important,  because 
it  deals  with  the  littlest  children  and  what  affects  them  is 
the  chief  concern  of  all. 

E.  C.  Moore, 

Dated  at  Los  Angeles,  Cal., 
August  7,  1918. 

To  Teachers: 

Miss  Myra  King  is  bringing  out  another  little  book  for 
teachers  of  primary  grades,  that  will  be  especially  helpful 
as  it  brings  out  in  a  helpful  way,  some  of  the  most  important 
habits  that  should  be  taught  to  the  children,  such  as  the 
ideas  of  self-government,  respect  for  law  and  order  and  for 
the  rights  of  others,  respect  for  authority,  etc.,  as  also  the 
ways  and  means  of  securing  better  results  in  the  teaching 
of  writing,  spelling  and  allied  subjects. 

These  ideas  have  been  developed  thru  actual  experience 
in  the  school  room  and  are  full  of  life  and  interest. 

I  know  you  will  like  it. 

J.  B.  Monlux 

Acting  Supt.  L.  A.  City  Schools. 

5 


August  10,  1918. 

As  in  former  publications,  Miss  King  has  again  in  this 
book,  shown  herself  a  real  teacher  by  keeping  within  the 
current  of  nature  and  therefore  in  the  current  of  child 
nature.  It  is  an  effort  to  help  teachers,  especially  young 
teachers,  to  get  away  from  the  notion  of  imposing  knowledge 
and  information  upon  children  by  a  power  from  without 
them,  and  to  get  into  the  current  of  child  mind  development 

In  doing  this,  she  aims  to  get  and  keep  "the  whole  child 
in  school," — his  emotional  life  as  well  as  his  mental  and 
physical.  Truly,  one  of  our  gravest  errors  has  been  the 
idea  that  the  schools  were  concerned  only  with  the  mental, 
or  at  best,  with  the  mental  and  physical.  The  emotional 
life  is  the  life  of  the  child  which  makes  or  mars,  and  it  should 
have  its  full  share  of  attention  in  the  rchools  as  well  as 
elsewhere. 

This  book  attempts  to  do  that,  and  it  should  be  of  great 
assistance  to  teachers,  especially  beginners. 

M.  C.  Bettinger, 

Assistant  Superintendent  of  School, 
Los  Angeles  California. 


CONTENTS 

Habit 9 

Law 10 

The  Question  of  Flowers 18 

Spelling 23 

Appreciation  of  the  Beautiful  ....  29 
Running  Races  with  Themselves  .  .  .  .34 
Seedtime  and  Harvest  ......  37 

The  Noon   Hour 43 

Courtesy      .  ......         46 

Retaliation  or  Getting  Even     .         .         .         .         .51 

A  Spelling  Method       ......         54 

Writing  a  Slow  Race .57 

"Don't" 60 

Time  Savers 63 

Welcoming    Committee          .....         66 

Teachers 68 

The  Teacher's  Holiday 71 

Expression       ........     74 

"Secrets  "or  "Surprises" 79 

Co-Operation  .         .         .         .         .         .         .88 


PREFACE 

A  primary  teacher,  more  perhaps,  than  any  other  person 
has  to  be  on  the  alert  every  moment,  always  equal  to  an 
emergency  of  any  kind,  from  a  torn  apron  to  a  broken 
heart,  and  from  the  application  of  the  multiplication  table 
to  an  explanation  of  the  causes  back  of  the  sunrise. 

For  these  reasons,  an  unlimited  supply  of  helpful  sug- 
gestions are  a  necessary  requisite  to  successful  and  timely 
encounter  with  these  problems. 

This  little  book  is  intended  to  furnish  a  variety  of  such 
helpful  hints,  which  have  proved  their  value  in  actual 
service,  along  the  different  lines  of  primary  work. 

MYRA   KING 


PRIMARY  DEVICES 

HABIT 

The  children  will  love  to  do  things  correctly 
when  they  have  formed  the  habit  of  so  doing. 
So  the  essential  thing  is  to  find  all  the  little  means 
and  methods  that  can  be  used  in  establishing 
correct  habits  along  all  lines  of  speech,  thought 
and  action. 

These  little  devices  are  nothing  in  themselves 
—only  a  means  to  an  end  and  as  soon  as  they  have 
served  their  purpose  they  should  be  dropped. 

The  child  is  continually  forming  new  habits, 
either  good  or  bad,  habits  of  industry,  habits 
of  independence,  of  success,  of  application,  etc., 
or  their  opposites,  habits  of  idleness,  dependence, 
failure,  etc.,  and  it  is  the  teacher's  business  to 
see  that  the  habits  formed  are  correct  ones,  for 
valuable  as  the  subjects  taught  him  are  to  be 
to  him  in  the  future,  the  habits  formed  in  his 
school  days  are  even  more  valuable,  for  after  all 
the  whole  process  of  education  is  merely  a  habit- 
forming  process. 

9 


LAW 

The  place  to  establish  right  habits  of  thought 
and  right  modes  of  action  is  with  the  very  little 
people.  Their  willingness  to  be  guided  and  their 
eagerness  to  learn  the  right  way  make  it  a  delight 
to  guide  the  little  feet  to  higher  planes.  We  do 
not  have  to  wait  till  they  are  in  the  upper  grades 
before  they  can  study  " Civil  Government." 
They  can  and  should  begin  in  the  1st  grade  to 
learn  about  "law,"  and  this  will  not  be  a  hard- 
ship or  an  added  burden  either  to  the  teacher  or 
to  the  children  but  a  joy  and  a  lightening  of 
burdens  as  their  highest  sense  of  law  is  made 
practical  by  applying  it  to  their  school  problems 
in  all  their  details. 

The  first  requisite  is  to  make  them  understand 
that  law  is  for  the  good  of  all — to  enlarge  the 
liberties  of  all — and  to  limit  nothing  but  wrong. 
In  other  words  they  should  be  taught  to  love 
law.  Then  the  next  step — the  keeping  of  the 
law — will  become  not  merely  a  duty  but  a  pleas- 
ure. This  is  the  time  to  teach  them  to  respect 
law.  This  is  the  time  to  teach  them  that  they 

10 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  11 

can  neither  break  or  evade  a  right  law  without 
injuring  themselves  as  well  as  others.  This  is 
also  the  time  to  teach  them  their  individual 
responsibility  in  helping  to  make  good  laws. 

This  work  may  be  begun  by  showing  them  that 
the  universe  is  governed  by  law,  that  without 
law  chaos  and  confusion  would  reign.  And  this 
need  take  very  little  time — only  four  or  five 
minutes  in  the  morning  and  as  much  again  in 
the  evening. 

To  illustrate,  the  following  sample  lessons  are 
submitted. 

After  the  children  are  seated  and  the  attend- 
ance noted  on  Monday  morning,  say  to  the  class: 
"How  many  saw  the  sun  rise  this  morning?" 
Immediately  many  little  hands  will  be  raised. 
Then  ask:  "How  many  saw  it  rise  yesterday?" 
Again  there  will  be  a  display  of  hands. 

Then  say:  "Did  you  ever  think  how  regularly 
the  sun  gets  up  every  morning?  It  never  forgets 
— it  is  never  too  late  and  never  too  early — always 
just  on  time.  Suppose  it  should  forget  sometimes 


12  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

and  so  be  a  few  hours  early  or  a  few  hours  late?" 

Instantly  a  number  of  little  hands  will  signify 
a  desire  to  talk  on  the  question.  Allow  a  minute 
or  two  for  the  children  to  express  their  views  and 
then  say:  'The  sun  gets  up  just  at  the  right 
time  every  morning  because  it  is  obeying  certain 
laws  which  goven  it.  Now  we  have  laws  to 
govern  our  school  which  we  must  obey  if  we  would 
have  everything  pleasant  and  everybody  happy. 
Who  can  think  of  one  of  these  laws-'  A  number 
of  uplifted  hands  will  evidence  a  recognition  of 
your  meaning. 

Perhaps  some  child  will  say:  "Miss  Smith 
(the  principal)  told  the  boys  the  other  day  that 
we  must  not  get  a  drink  after  the  bell  rings. 
Isn't  that  a  law?"  If  this  seems  the  best  law 
to  choose  from  among  those  given,  explain  to 
the  children  why  "Miss  Smith"  made  it.  Show 
them  that  the  boys  and  girls  are  apt  to  get  so 
interested  in  their  play  that  they  forget  all  about 
a  drink  till  the  bell  rings.  Then  all  rush  to  the 
water,  so  causing  confusion  and  consequently 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  13 

delay  in  getting  at  their  work.  Show  them  that 
this  "law"  is  for  the  good  of  all  and  they  will 
be  eager  to  keep  it. 

Then  say:  "Now  I  am  going  to  see  how  many 
keep  this  "law"  today.  I  am  going  to  write 
"Monday"  here  on  the  front  board  and  this 
evening  just  before  we  go  home,  I  am  going  to 
ask  how  many  have  kept  the  law. 

Nothing  more  need  be  said  on  the  subject  till 
the  close  of  the  day.  When  the  children  are  all 
ready  to  go  home,  go  to  the  board  where  the 
word  "Monday"  is  written  and  say  to  the  class: 
"How  many  kept  the  law  today?"  Count  the 
number  of  uplifted  hands  and  write  the  number 
after  the  word  "Monday."  Then  show  an  en- 
thusiastic appreciation  of  their  effort  by  some 
such  commendatory  remark  as,  '  'Oh,  I'm  so  glad 
there  were  so  many  who  remembered.  They  11 
be  the  men  and  women  who  know  how  to  keep 
the  law  when  they  are  big."  Don't  say  anything 
about  those  who  didn't  keep  it. 

On  Tuesday  morning  write  the  word  '  'Tues- 


14  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

day"  under  ' 'Monday'7 — this  may  be  done  with 
colored  chalk — and  say  to  the  class:  "I'm  going 
to  ask  to-night  how  many  have  kept  the  'law' 
today."  When  evening  comes  write  after  '  Tues- 
day" the  number  of  those  who  kept  the  'law" 
that  day.  Make  some  appropriate,  appreciative 
remarks  as  before — much  depends  on  this. 

Repeat  this  every  day  during  the  week  and  by 
Friday  almost  every  child  will  be  "keeping  the 
law." 

The  next  Monday  take  up  some  new  "law"- 
being  sure  to  let  the  children  have  their  part  in 
selecting  it — and  follow  the  same  method  as  in 
the  previous  week.  Say  to  them,  "We  are  not 
going  to  forget  to  keep  this  old  'law '  while  we're 
keeping  the  new  one  so  I'm  going  to  ask  how 
many  have  kept  the  old  'law'  each  day  although 
I'm  not  going  to  put  the  number  on  the  board." 

At  the  end  of  two  or  three  weeks  the  "old 
law"  will  have  become  so  well  established — so 
habitually  kept  that  it  may  be  spoken  of  only 
occasionally,  but  it  should  not  be  forgotten  or 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  15 

neglected.  As  often  as  possible  the  teacher  should 
speak  of  it.  This  may  be  done  by  some  such 
remarks  as  these:  "Oh,  you  don't  know  how 
happy  it  made  me  to  see  how  many  of  my  boys 
kept  the  law  about  getting  a  drink  this  noon.77 
or  "I  have  been  noticing  for  some  time  how 
carefully  John  is  keeping  that  law  about  getting 
a  drink  after  the  bell  rings."  This  will  be  espec- 
ially effective  if  John  is  one  of  the  boys  who  was 
slow  to  keep  the  "law"  in  the  beginning. 

Some  of  the  "laws"  of  which  the  children  will 
readily  think  may  be:  "We  must  not  throw 
paper  in  the  yard,"  or  "We  must  not  go  off  the 
grounds  without  permission,"  and  they  may  be 
established  in  the  same  way. 

After  the  class  has  worked  in  this  way  for  some 
weeks  and  they  begin  to  understand  the  meaning 
of  law  they  may  profitably  commence  making 
laws  for  themselves. 

Before  this  is  attempted  the  teacher  should 
explain  in  a  few  words  what  it  means  to  vote  and 
then  ask  the  class  to  name  some  laws  which  they 


16  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

think  it  would  be  well  to  keep.  Usually  a  num- 
ber will  be  given  as:  "We  must  not  whisper/' 
"We  must  not  waste  any  time"  or  "We  must 
not  say  any  cross  words." 

After  the  teacher  has  selected  one  of  these  the 
children  vote  on  it  by  raising  their  hands.  If  it 
becomes  a  law  it  is  kept  before  their  thought  as 
were  the  others.  In  the  evening  find  how  many 
have  kept  the  '  law"  and  commend  them  heartily, 
with  some  such  words  as:  "What  a  glad  or  busy 
day  this  has  been — the  quiet  pleasant  room  has 
made  it  so  easy  to  get  our  work  done,  etc.,  etc." 
Perhaps  some  one  will  say:  "But,  Miss  Blank, 
Jimmie  had  his  hand  up  and  he  didn't  keep  the 
law."  The  most  effective  way  to  deal  with  this 
will  be  to  say  something  of  this  kind:  "Didn't 
he?  Well  that's  too  bad.  I  didn't  think  Jimmie 
would  do  that  way.  He  can't  be  very  happy." 
Then  drop  it — say  no  more  about  it  and  '  'Jimmie" 
will  be  pretty  sure  to  "keep  the  law"  the  next 
day. 

One  of  the  most  important  things  in  this  work 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  17 

is  to  be  sure  that  the  teacher  does  not  condemn 
or  in  any  way  discriminate  against  those  who 
do  not  "keep  the  law"  but  that  she  gets  her 
results  by  commending  those  who  do.  In  this 
way  the  public  spirit  of  the  school  will  soon  be  a 
power  for  good  which  those  who  may  not  be  in- 
clined at  first  to  "keep  the  law"  will  not  care  to 
disregard. 

It  is  generally  admitted  that  early  impressions 
are  the  most  lasting  and  if  the  children  get  this 
right  concept  of  law  before  they  hear  wrong  and 
prejudiced  concepts  from  their  elders  much  will 
have  been  done  for  them. 

If  this  method  is  adhered  to  throughout  the 
lower  grades  much  of  what  we  call  discipline  in 
the  upper  grades  will  have  become  unnecessary. 

It  is  absolutely  necessary,  however,  in  order  to 
make  a  success  of  this  work  that  the  teacher  be 
alert,  loving  and  tactful. 


"THE  QUESTION  OF  FLOWERS" 

The  question  of  flowers  is  often  a  puzzling  one 
to  the  primary  teacher  whose  artistic  sense  is 
daily  offended  by  the  conglomerate  mass  of  short- 
stemmed  blossoms,  held  tightly  in  hot  little  hands, 
which  find  their  way  to  her  desk  every  morning. 

But  it  need  not  trouble  her  for  there  is  an  easy, 
beautiful  and  satisfactory  solution  to  this  as  to 
all  other  problems  when  we  look  for  it  earnestly. 
This  is  offered  as  one  way — doubtless  there  are 
many  others  which  each  teacher  will  discover  for 
herself — it  is  to  have  a  "flower  committee" 
appointed  at  the  end  of  the  week  to  serve  for  the 
following  week.  This  committee  should  consist 
of  four  or  five  members  and  should  include  boys 
as  well  as  girls. 

When  this  method  is  first  adopted  the  teacher 
will  have  to  be  wise  in  her  appointments  as  some 
of  the  children,  especially  the  boys,  may  be  timid 
about  bringing  out  their  ideas,  but  if  she  begins 
by  selecting  those  who  seem  to  have  a  natural 
aptitude  for  bringing  out  harmonious  conditions 
along  this  line,  soon  every  child  in  the  room  will 

18 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  19 

be  available  for  the  work  and  in  due  course  each 
one  should  have  his  part  in  it. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  members  of  the  com- 
mittee to  be  on  the  school-grounds  as  early  in 
the  morning  as  the  rules  of  the  school  will  permit. 
Each  child  who  brings  flowers  must  find  some 
member  of  the  committee  on  the  grounds  and 
deliver  to  that  member  his  donation.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  committee  must  have  the  privilege 
of  coming  into  the  room  as  the  flowers  begin  to 
arrive  and  there  will  soon  be  an  abundant  supply. 

When  "school  begins"  part  of  the  time  allowed 
for  opening  exercises  should  be  given  to  an  ap- 
preciative consideration  of  the  results  of  the  work 
of  the  committee.  The  primary  teacher  here, 
as  elsewhere,  must  be  an  enthusiast.  She  should 
look  for  and  commend  all  the  little  individual 
touches  and  original  effects  calling  the  attention 
of  the  class  to  the  harmonious  results  attained. 

One  morning,  perhaps,  she  will  find  that  a 
single  beautiful  rose  has  been  placed  by  itself 
in  a  tall  slender  vase.  This  will  give  an  oppor- 


20  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

tunity  to  show  the  children  that  the  beauty  of 
the  rose  is  dependent  on  its  form  as  well  as  on 
its  color,  also  on  its  freedom  to  display  not  only 
its  form  and  color  but  the  grace  of  its  motion  as 
well.  To  illustrate — the  teacher  says  with  gen- 
uine pleasure  which  at  once  communicates  itself 
to  the  class,  "Oh,  see  the  beautiful  red  rose  in 
this  tall  vase — see  its  nice  long  stem.  And  aren't 
we  glad  that  we  had  this  tall  vase  to  hold  it! 
Now/'  giving  the  vase  a  gentle  shake,  "watch 
it  nod  its  head.  It  think  it  is  saying  'Good 
morning'  to  us.  It  couldn't  do  that  if  it  were 
crowded  in  with  a  lot  of  other  flowers.  It's  just 
like  boys  and  girls — they  couldn't  do  their  work 
properly  if  they  were  crowded  so  close  together 
that  they  couldn't  move.  I'm  so  glad  out  com- 
mittee arranged  this  rose  just  this  way,  for  I 
think  it's  just  beautiful,  etc.,  etc." 

Another  morning  she  may  find  a  long  branch 
set  with  flowers  trained  up  the  wall,  over  the 
blackboard  or  across  the  window.  This  will  be 
another  opportunity  to  show  the  advantage  of 
picking  the  flowers  with  long  stems. 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  21 

Still  another  time  there  will  be  a  great  bunch  of 
poppies  or  other  flowers  all  of  one  kind.  This 
will  afford  an  occasion  to  teach  the  children  how 
much  more  pleasure  they  will  get  from  their 
flowers  if  they  do  not  have  too  many  kinds  to- 
gether. 

Sometimes  they  may  have  a  "rose  day"  or  a 
" violet"  or  "wild  flower  day"  confining  their 
decorations  to  the  one  kind  of  flowers. 

Of  course  the  committee  must  understand  that 
they  are  responsible  for  the  appearance  of  the 
room — floor,  tables,  etc.,  before  their  work  is 
finished  and  that  all  old  flowers,  litter  and  other 
waste  matter  must  be  properly  disposed  of  as  a 
part  of  their  work. 

Very  soon  the  school-room  will  begin  to  be  a 
bower  of  flowers — will  begin  to  '  'bud  and  blossom 
as  the  rose."  The  children  will  get  an  unlimited 
amount  of  pleasure  and  profit  from  the  work, 
the  teacher  will  be  relieved  of  caring  for  the 
flowers,  and  not  only  this  but  the  influence  of 
their  awakened  thought  will  be  felt  in  the  homes 


22  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

and  the  lessons  in  bringing  out  harmony,  so  learned 
will  be  invaluable  to  them  throughout  the  years. 
And  last,  but  not  least,  there  will  be  a  marked 
effect  on  the  discipline  in  the  room. 


SPELLING 

Most  of  us  as  primary  teachers  have  had  long 
and  protracted  struggles  with  the  spelling  prob- 
lem in  the  lower  grades,  and,  as  long  as  we  must 
teach  children  to  spell  by  the  old  hard  method, 
are  always  grateful  for  any  suggestions  that  will 
make  the  work  less  laborious  for  teacher  and  pupil 
and  will  at  the  same  time  bring  about  right  results. 

The  important  thing  in  this  work  is  to  find  a 
way  to  keep  every  child  eagerly,  honestly  and 
persistently  at  work  till  the  lesson  is  learned, 
which  will  not  take  long  if  they  are  working  in 
the  right  way  and  in  the  right  spirit. 

The  following  method  has  been  found  very 
successful. 

Arrange  to  have  ten  or  fifteen  minutes,  more  if 
possible,  to  devote  to  the  study  of  the  day's 
spelling.  Then  say  to  the  class:  "Now,  I  am 
going  to  give  you  three,  four  or  five  minutes," 
as  you  can  afford,  *  'to  study,  while  I  sit  here  and 
watch  to  see  who  are  the  good  workers." 

Every  child  in  the  room  will  instantly  go  to 

work  with  a  will. 

23 


24  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

When  the  given  time  has  expired,  the  teacher, 
who  is  watching  the  clock  as  well  as  the  children 
says:  ' 'Who  is  ready  to  spell  for  me?"  Then  she 
selects  from  those  who  think  they  are  ready, 
one  whom  she  "saw  working  hard"  saying  some- 
thing to  this  effect,  '  'I  think  I'll  try  John — I  saw 
him  doing  some  good  work." 

John  comes  forward  to  the  teacher's  desk  and 
spells  the  entire  lesson  for  her  at  the  same  time 
watching  to  see  who  among  his  classmates  is 
giving  his  whole  attention  to  his  study. 

If  John  succeeds  in  spelling  all  the  words  he 
then  becomes  a  teacher  and  asks  who  is  ready  to 
spell  for  him.  He  chooses  from  among  those  who 
raise  their  hands,  as  the  teacher  did,  one  whom 
he  saw  at  work,  as  Ben.  He  and  Ben  stand  a 
little  distance  from  the  teacher's  desk  and  Ben 
spells  all  the  words  for  John,  both  boys  keeping 
a  close  watch  to  see  who  among  those  at  their 
seats  are  doing  good  work. 

When  Ben  has  finished  he  and  John  are  both 
teachers  and  ask  those  of  the  class  who  are  ready 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  25 

to  spell  to  raise  their  hands.  Then  each  teacher 
selects  one  whom  he  saw  working  hard  as  "Tom" 
and  "Fred."  These  boys  come  forward  and  spell 
while  those  at  their  seats  continue  their  study. 

When  Tom  and  Fred  have  finished  spelling, 
they  select  four  more  good  workers  who  spell  for 
them  and  so  the  work  goes  on.  In  a  short  time 
every  child  in  the  room  has  spelled  all  the  lesson 
and  has  done  some  good  study  in  order  to  be  able 
to  do  it. 

The  teacher  will  have  general  supervision  and 
if  one  of  the  "  teachers "  chooses  a  child  who  has 
not  been  working  she  will  have  to  say:  "I  didn't 
see  Dick  working  hard  enough.  You'll  have  to 
choose  someone  else." 

This  spelling  is  done  aloud  and  after  several 
are  on  the  floor  spelling,  there  will  be  a  general 
hum  of  voices,  but  the  children  soon  get  used  to 
that  and  those  at  their  seats  will  go  on  with  their 
study  ,paying  no  attention  to  those  who  are  spell- 
ing. 

After  they  have  become  accustomed  to  spelling 


26  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

in  this  way,  it  will  be  helpful  to  let  them — those 
who  wish  to  do  so — commit  to  memory  the  whole 
lesson  and  spell  it  without  having  the  words 
pronounced.  Then  they  may  be  allowed  to 
commit  the  list  backwords  and  in  other  ways  of 
which  they  will  often  think  themselves.  This 
will  give  variety  and  interest  to  the  work. 

This  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  will  be  a  time  when 
the  teacher  will  have  to  speak  loud  to  make 
herself  heard,  but  it  will  be  a  busy  time  when 
every  child  will  be  giving  his  every  thought  to 
his  work  and  the  result  will  be  that  almost  every 
child  will  have  a  perfect  spelling  lesson  in  the 
written  work  which  follows. 

If,  during,  this  busy  time,  the  teacher  wishes 
to  be  heard,  she  taps  the  bell  and  instantly  every 
child  is  quiet  till  they  have  her  permission  to  go 
on  with  their  work. 

It  is  well  to  have  this  study  period  immediately 
precede  the  written  spelling. 

Just  before  the  children  are  dismissed  in  the 
evening  the  teacher  reads  the  names  of  those  who 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  27 

had  perfect  lessons  and  returns  to  them,  their 
papers  marked  "100"  in  red  ink.  Before  long, 
almost  every  child  in  the  room  will  have  a  paper 
with  "100"  on  it  to  take  home,  and  they  will 
treasure  these  papers  very  carefully. 

Those  who  have  made  mistakes  do  not  have 
their  papers  returned  but  the  teacher  keeps  a 
list  of  all  misspelled  words  and  repeats  them  in  the 
next  lesson  till  they  are  learned  also.  If  the  class 
is  spelling  from  a  book,  the  assigned  lesson  should 
be  shortened  to  allow  room  for  these  misspelled 
words  which  are  placed  on  the  board. 

This  will  soon  do  away  with  the  need  of  keeping 
children  after  school  to  learn  misspelled  words. 

With  the  aid  of  some  little  paper  fasteners  and 
their  colored  crayons  the  children  will  enjoy  mak- 
ing little  decorated  book  covers  the  size  and  shape 
of  their  spelling  papers  in  which  to  put  their 
perfect  papers  so  making  a  book  of  their  "100's." 

During  many  years  of  work  in  the  primary 
grades,  I  have  never  found  a  method  so  successful 
in  getting  right  results  in  everything  that  has  to 


28  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

do  with  spelling  as  the  one  here  outlined.  The 
children  not  only  learn  the  spelling,  but  they 
learn  how  to  study,  how  to  apply  themselves  to 
their  work,  even  when  surrounded  by  the  hum  of 
voices  and  they  learn  that  they  can  have  perfect 
lessons  and  learn  to  expect  that  of  themselves 
habitually.  Then  there  is  no  opportunity  here 
for  dishonesty — each  must  depend  on  his  own 
effort  and  he  learns  to  do  it. 


APPRECIATION  OF  THE  BEAUTIFUL 

Many  of  the  little  people  are  able  to  appre- 
ciate— in  some  measure,  the  natural  beauty  around 
them  when  they  first  come  to  school,  but  more  of 
them,  coming  from  homes  where  only  the  so-called 
practical  is  counted  of  importance,  will  never  be 
even  conscious  of  the  beautiful  in  nature  which 
greets  them  at  every  turn  unless  they  are  definitely 
taught  to  look  for  it  and  this  also  must  be  the  work 
of  the  school. 

Much  may  be  accomplished  along  this  line 
with  very  little  time  and  almost  no  preparation. 
The  teacher,  however,  will  have  to  be  an  enthusiast 
here  as  elsewhere. 

Many  little  opportunities  will  offer  every  day 
for  directing  the  children's  thought  to  some 
phase  of  beauty  in  their  surroundings.  A  few 
suggestions  are  here  offered. 

Say  to  the  class  some  morning  when  the  dawn 
has  been  especially  beautiful:  tll  wonder  how 
many  of  my  boys  and  girls  saw  the  sun  get  up 
this  morning "  or  "I  wonder  how  many  were 
ahead  of  the  sun  this  morning  and  were  up  before 

29 


30  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

he  had  dried  up  all  the  dew,"  or  some  other  similar 
thing. 

Perhaps  John  will  raise  his  hand  enthusiastically 
eager  to  tell  you  that  he  got  up  when  Father  did 
this  morning,  before  daylight  and  that  "every- 
thing was  so  still — you  couldn't  hear  a  sound  till 
the  sun  came  up,  when  suddenly  all  the  birds 
began  singing  at  once  as  if  they  were  telling  the 
sun  'Good  Morning'." 

Or  perhaps  Mary  will  tell  you  that  the  sky  in 
the  east  this  morning  was  "just  the  color  of  the 
big  lilac  bush  in  our  back  yard  when  it  is  in  full 
bloom." 

All  these  little  evidences  of  the  recognition  of 
beauty  should  meet  with  the  teacher's  sympathetic 
appreciation. 

The  same  plan  may  be  followed  in  awakening 
them  to  observe  the  sunset. 

Say  to  them  some  morning,  "How  many  saw 
the  beautiful  sunset  last  night?"  Perhaps  several 
will  have  noticed  it  and  will  be  eager  to  tell  you 
that  it  looked  "just  like  a  great  pile  of  roses"  or 
"a  great  sheet  of  gold,"  etc.  Let  them  talk 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  31 

just  a  minute  and  then  go  on  with  the  other  work. 
The  chances  are  that  the  next  time  you  talk  about 
sunsets,  which  should  be  within  a  few  days,  you 
will  find  a  larger  number  prepared  to  talk  on  the 
subject. 

These  little  talks  need  occupy  only  two  or  three 
minutes  but  will  be  far  reaching  in  their  results. 

Perhaps  Tom  will  come  in  some  morning,  just 
at  the  last  minute,  his  face  beaming  with  smiles, 
and  his  hat  full  of  big  red  apples  l  'for  the  teacher  " 
or  he  may  come  bearing  triumphantly  the  '  'big- 
gest bunch  of  grapes  in  the  vineyard."  Tom  has 
favored  the  teacher  with  these,  his  best,  because 
"they  are  good  to  eat,"  but  the  wide  awake 
teacher  will  see  herein  an  opportunity  to  direct 
thought  to  the  beautiful  and  while  she  shows  her 
appreciation  of  Tom's  thoughtfulness  by  some 
fitting  reamrk  as,  "Won't  they  be  fine  with  my 
lunch,  etc.",  she  may  hold  them  up  before  the 
class  calling  attention  to  their  beauty — beauty 
of  color,  form,  arrangement,  etc.,  so  that  Tom 
may  learn  that  his  gift  is  valued  not  only  because 


32  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

it  is  "good  to  eat,"  but  because  it  ministers  to  a 
higher  sense — the  love  of  the  beautiful — as  well. 

Again  some  glorious  spring  morning,  when  the 
air  is  odorous  with  the  breath  of  spring  flowers, 
and  every  little  head  is  bent  intently  over  its 
daily  work,  suddenly  the  school-room  may  be 
flooded  with  melody — the  overflowing  joyousness 
of  the  little  feathered  songster  swinging  on  the 
branch  just  outside  the  window. 

This  will  be  another  opportunity.  Very  quietly 
the  children's  attention  may  be  directed  to  the 
little  musician  and  they  may  be  invited  to  put 
aside  their  work  for  a  few  minutes  and  enjoy  this 
"free  concert."  If  this  kind  of  thing  is  done 
frequently  and  in  the  right  spirit  by  the  teacher, 
there  need  be  no  fear  that  the  children  will  take 
advantage  or  be  disorderly — on  the  contrary, 
they  will  grow  more  reverent  toward  the  good 
and  the  beautiful  in  everything  and  will  respond 
to  the  trust  placed  in  them  in  a  most  satisfactory 
way. 

There  will  be  no  days  that  do  not  afford  some 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  33 

opportunity  for  recognizing  beauty  of  some  kind 
On  a  cloudy  day  attention  may  be  called  to  the 
great  piles  of  white  clouds  that  look  like  snow- 
covered  peaks,  or  like  ocean  billows,  or  to  the  long 
rows  of  black  ones  that  look  like  distant  mountain 
ranges,  etc.;  on  a  rainy  day  to  the  soft  patter  of 
the  rain  drops  as  they  quietly  do  their  work  of 
cleansing  and  refreshing;  on  a  cold  day  to  the 
clearness  of  the  atmosphere;  on  a  hot  day  to  the 
gentle  little  breezes  that  mitigate  the  heat,  etc., 
thus  teaching  the  children  to  look  for  and  to  find 
some  redeeming  feature  in  every  situation. 

They  may  get  much  pleasure  from  watching  the 
growth  and  development  of  their  house  plants 
or  in  daily  noting  the  unfolding  of  a  rose.  One 
rose  bud  may  be  kept  by  itself  in  a  vase,  appro- 
priate in  size  and  shape,  and  its  daily  unfoldment 
will  be  a  delight  to  the  children.  If  picked  early 
and  with  proper  care  it  will  last  two  weeks  and 
unfold  gradually  and  naturally. 

These  are  just  a  few  of  the  many  little  oppor- 
tunities that  will  come  into  every  teacher's  experi- 
ence— others  will  abound  as  both  teacher  and 
children  begin  to  look  for  them. 


RUNNING  RACES  WITH  THEMSELVES. 

One  of  the  most  necessary  things  and  sometimes 
one  of  the  most  difficult  things  to  secure  with 
young  children,  is  application.  They  mean  to 
do — and  they  mean  to  do  their  best,  and  they 
mean  to  do  it  now — their  intentions  are  always 
above  reproach,  but  things  around  are  so  inter- 
esting, so  insistent  in  claiming  and  holding  their 
attention,  though  they  intend  "to  look  only  for 
a  minute"  that  before  they  realize  it,  the  time  is 
all  gone  and  the  spelling  isn't  learned,  the  examples 
aren't  worked,  etc. 

For  this  reason,  a  variety  of  little  devices  for 
teaching  application  will  be  welcomed  by  the 
primary  teacher. 

One  thing  that  may  be  done  frequently  and  in 
a  variety  of  ways  is  to  let  them  run  races  with 
themsalves. 

Have  a  short  study  period  which  the  whole 
class  is  to  devote  to  the  study  of  spelling.  Stand 
before  the  class  and  say:  '  1  am  going  to  give  you 
just  one  minute  to  study  spelling  and  want  you 
to  keep  account  of  the  number  of  times  you  go 

34 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  35 

over  it"  —they  can  do  this  with  their  fingers,  by 
making  little  marks  on  papers,  one  for  every  time 
they  go  over  the  lesson,  or  in  any  way  that  they 
may  think  of.  When  the  minute  is  gone,  tap  the 
bell,  at  which  signal  all  study  must  stop,  and 
allow  each  child  to  tell  you  how  many  times  he 
studied  the  lesson.  Then  give  them  another 
minute  letting  them  work  and  stopping  them  as 
before,  but  with  the  understanding  that  each  is 
running  a  race  with  himself  and  is  trying  to  get 
over  the  lesson  more  times  than  he  did  in  the 
other  minute.  When  this  minute  is  gone,  allow 
all  who  accomplished  this,  and  so  Mwon  the  race" 
to  raise  their  hands  and  to  tell  you  how  many 
more  times  they  studied  it  this  time  than  before. 

Immediately  let  them  run  another  race  and 
another  race  till  all  the  study  time,  perhaps  ten 
or  twelve  minutes  has  been  consumed.  By  this 
time,  almost  every  child  will  be  ready  with  a 
perfect  spelling  lesson  and  will  have  learned , 
unconsciously,  a  valuable  lesson  in  application 
besides. 


36  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

This  method  may  be  used  with  one  or  more 
of  the  particularly  hard  words  in  the  lesson,  with 
the  tables,  memory  gems  or  any  other  memory 
work. 


SEED  TIME  AND  HARVEST 

The  primary  teacher,  perhaps  more  than  any 
other  individual,  needs  to  remember  that  the 
harvest  cannot  differ  essentially  from  the  seed, 
and  that  the  child-thought  is  the  fertile  and 
tillable  soil  in  which  she  is  daily  sowing  seed 
which  must  sooner  or  later  in  the  very  nature  of 
things  yield  fruit  of  a  like  character. 

Great  responsibilities  and  great  privileges  are 
those  of  the  primary  teacher  and  while  she  should 
not  allow  the  sense  of  responsibility  to  make  her 
work  burdensome  yet  she  should  be  constantly 
alert  that  her  sowing  be  of  a  kind  that  is  worthy 
of  reproduction. 

To  many  children,  "the  teacher "  is  the  highest 
authority  on  all  subjects  and  if  "the  teacher  said 
so"  there  is  nothing  more  to  be  said  on  the  sub- 
ject— no  question  to  be  raised — her  word  is  "law 
and  gospel'7  to  them. 

For  this  reason  the  teacher  should  be  very 
careful  what  she  says  and  how  she  says  it. 

In  the  hurry  and  press  of  a  full  day,  it  is  very 
easy  to  say  some  little  thoughtless,  impatient 

37 


38  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

thing  which  is  immediately  forgotten  by  the  busy 
teacher,  but  which  takes  deep  root  in  the  childish 
thought  and  sooner  or  later  bears  fruit,  after  its 
kind,  of  which  could  she  see  it  and  know  it,  as 
the  result  of  her  sowing,  the  teacher  would  not 
be  proud. 

The  following  little  story  is  a  case  in  point. 

A  boy  of  sixteen — a  good,  industrious,  well- 
meaning,  intelligent  boy,  whose  father  was  a  man 
of  intelligence  and  of  some  influence  for  good 
in  the  city,  had  fallen  so  far  behind  his  class  in 
mathematics  in  its  various  branches  that  he  could 
not  be  promoted.  This  had  happened  several 
times,  till  now  he  was  two  or  three  grades  behind 
the  boys  and  girls  of  his  own  age. 

In  the  city  where  this  boy  lived,  the  school 
authorities  were  especially  awake  to  the  children's 
needs  and  left  no  means  untried  to  do  the  best 
they  could  see  to  do  for  the  progress  of  each  in- 
dividual child. 

This  boy,  therefore,  had  special  help  in  an 
ungraded  room  and  every  other  advantage  that 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  39 

the  loving  thoughtfullness  of  those  in  charge 
could  devise. 

But  the  boy  continued  to  fail  in  that  one  par- 
ticular branch  of  the  work. 

Living  on  the  same  street  with  this  boy's  family 
was  a  teacher  who  taught  in  the  district  in  which 
the  boy  belonged  although  he  was  at  that  time, 
attending  an  ungraded  room  at  some  distance. 

One  morning  early,  the  mother  of  the  boy  came 
in  tears  to  this  teacher.  "Tell  me"  she  said 
"what  to  do  with  Rob — he  is  walking  the  floor, 
swearing,  and  declaring  that  he  will  never  go  into 
a  school-room  again.  What  shall  I  do?" 

"Why"  answered  the  teacher,  when  she  had 
questioned  a  little,  "there's  only  one  thing  to 
do — teach  him  till  he  begins  to  understand  the 
subject — begins  to  have  a  grasp  on  it  and  so  begins 
to  have  confidence  in  himself." 

"But"  answered  the  tearful  mother,  between 
her  sobs,  "he  can't  learn  arithmetic — a  teacher 
once  told  him  so — neither  can  his  older  brother — 
it  runs  in  the  family,  etc.,  etc." 


40  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

"Yes,  but  he  can,"  answered  the  teacher  whose 
experience  with  children  had  been  long  and  varied, 
"get  right  at  work  and  teach  him." 

"I  don't  know  how"  said  the  mother,  "will 
you  do  it?" 

'Yes,"  answered  the  teacher,  "send  him  over 
this  evening." 

In  the  evening  the  boy  came  over  and  had  his 
first  lesson.  They  began  at  foundation  principles 
but  the  teacher's  special  object  was  to  find  out, 
by  careful  questioning  and  loving  patience,  just 
where  the  trouble  lay. 

Finally  it  was  disclosed  that  when  the  boy  was 
in  one  of  the  lower  grades  and  was  one  day  having 
a  severe  battle  with  what  was  to  him  a  stupendous 
problem,  the  teacher,  who  was  trying  to  help  him, 
becoming  impatient  with  the  slowness  with  which 
he  grasped  her  explanations,  turning  hurriedly 
away  to  another  child,  had  left  him  with  the 
remark,  "Oh,  you  can't  understand  it — you'll 
never  be  able  to  learn  arithmetic  anyway,  etc., 
etc." 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  41 

An  older  brother  having  had  a  similar  experi- 
ence previously — having  been  told  the  same  thing 
—it  was  very  naturally  concluded  that  inability 
to  '  'learn  arithmetic "  was  a  family  failing. 

The  older  brother  after  many  struggles,  had 
yielded  to  discouragement,  given  up  school  and 
gone  to  work.  Now  the  younger  boy  was  con- 
fronted with  the  same  situation.  He  said, '  There's 
no  use — I  can't  learn  arithmetic — I  may  as  well 
quit  and  go  to  work." 

The  teacher,  realizing  that  the  boy  was  so 
discouraged  that  he  could  not  make  any  effort, 
began  with  what  she  was  sure  he  did  know. 
She  talked  with  him  also — told  him  that  he  was 
a  bright,  intelligent  boy  and  needed  only  to  apply 
himself,  etc.,  etc.  Gradually  she  advanced  to 
new  subjects,  tactfully  and  lovingly  helping  him 
over  the  hard  places  till  he  began  to  have  confi- 
dence in  himself  and  consequently  courage  to 
make  the  necessary  effort.  The  transformation 
was  wonderful. 

At  the  end  of  a  few  weeks,  he  came  as  usual, 


42  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

one  evening  for  his  lesson.  His  face  was  all  aglow. 
"Miss  Gardner,"  he  said,  'Tm  going  back  to 
school."  Needless  to  say  that  they  rejoiced 
together. 

Miss  Gardner,  being  at  that  time  principal  in 
the  district  ,was  able  to  keep  loving  watch  over 
the  boy's  progress.  The  result  was  that  he  went 
steadily  forward  and  graduated  from  the  Grammar 
school  with  credit. 

This  is  only  one  of  the  many  instances  that 
might  be  cited  where  impatient  or  thoughtless 
remarks — careless  sowing — by  the  teacher  has 
yielded  a  crop  of  weeds  that  had  either  to  be 
uprooted  as  was  done  in  this  case,  or  that  grew 
and  multiplied  to  such  an  extent  that  they  occu- 
pied the  whole  ground  and  so  choked  and  starved 
the  good  seed  that  it  has  been  unable  to  find  any 
sustenance  or  any  room  for  growth. 

Surely  a  primary  teacher  must  look  at  her 
work  as  a  sacred  trust  and  must  act  accordingly. 


THE  NOON  HOUR 

Time  is  money.  This  old  saying  is  a  trite 
statement  of  the  generally  accepted  fact  that  we 
can  not  afford  to  waste  or  idly  squander,  even  a 
moment  of  this  precious  possession.  If  we  can 
not  afford  to  waste  time  then  it  naturally  follows 
that  we  can  not  afford  to  do  worse  than  waste 
it — to  fill  it  with  harmful  thoughts,  words  or 
actions. 

There  is,  among  teachers  in  large  school  build- 
ings, an  almost  universal  custom  of  congregating 
in  one  of  the  class-rooms  or  in  a  specially  provided 
' lunch  room"  and  so  spending  the  noon  hour 
together.  This  time,  if  properly  spent,  may  be 
of  great  benefit  to  both  the  teacher  and  to  the 
children  whose  intellectual  and  moral  advance- 
ment she  is  directing.  Such  time  will  be  profit- 
ably employed  either  in  pleasant  social  intercourse 
or  in  the  exchange  of  helpful  experiences  and  useful 
suggestions  along  the  various  lines  of  school  work 
so  that  the  individual  teacher  may  return  to 
her  afternoon  tasks  with  some  little  gleam  of 
inspiration  gleaned  from  this  mutual  giving. 

43 


44  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

It  is  to  be  regretted,  however,  that  such  results 
are  not  always  the  outcome  of  these  noon  gather- 
ings but  that  just  the  reverse  is  often  true. 

Not  infrequently  the  course  of  procedure  is 
something  like  the  following:  Jack's  teacher 
relates  in  the  most  graphic  manner  all  Jack's 
midsemeanors  for  the  day — she  has  related  all 
the  previous  ones  previously — and  closes  her 
recital  with  some  such  statement  as,  ''Well,  I 
don't  know  what's  to  become  of  the  boy"  or 
'Td  not  be  surprised  at  anything  from  him." 
Then  the  other  teachers  who  have  dealt  with 
Jack  in  the  lower  grades  rehearse  his  past  mis- 
doings and  encourage  his  present  teacher  with 
such  reminders  as,  "You  know  I  told  you  that 
you'd  have  a  time  with  him,  etc." 

All  this  calls  forth  a  similar  recital  of  woes 
from  Jimmie's  teacher  and  similarly  consoling 
remarks  from  Jimmie's  previous  teachers.  And 
so  the  conversation  proceeds. 

When  the  noon  hour  is  over,  both  teachers 
return  to  their  class  rooms  fully  expecting  some 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  45 

form  of  wrong  doing,  and  Jack  and  Jimmie  feeling 
instinctively  the  distrust  and  fearful  expectancy 
of  the  teachers,  immediately  proceed  to  fulfill 
that  expectancy.  And  who  is  to  blame?  Are 
not  the  teachers  as  much  responsible  as  the 
children? 

'  'Do  not  look  for  wrong  and  evil, 
You  will  find  them  if  you  do; 

As  you  measure  to  your  neighbor, 
He  will  measure  back  to  you." 

1  'Look  for  goodness,  look  for  gladness— 
You  will  meet  them  all  the  while; 
If  you  bring  a  smiling  visage 
To  the  glass  you  meet  a  smile." 
These  words  of  Alice  Carey,  indicate  the  right 
attitude  of  the  teacher  toward  the  children  in 
her    care,    and    any    conversation   which    dwells 
unnecessarily   on   their   shortcomings   will   unfit 
her  to  keep  this  attitude  and  so  interfere  seriously 
with  her  getting  the  best  out  of  the  children. 


COURTESY 

The  hearts  of  the  little  people  in  the  primary 
grades  are  so  overflowing  with  that  love  and  good 
will  to  all  of  which  true  courtesy  is  the  natural 
expression,  that  it  is  a  delight  to  so  direct  their 
various  activities  that  they  may  become  naturally 
and  habitually  courteous. 

And  the  school  room  affords  many  and  varied 
opportunities  for  making  practical  application 
of  this  teaching. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  ways  of  reaching 
definite  results. 

Perhaps  the  teacher  has  learned  that  the  Super- 
intendent, Mr.  Smith,  expects  to  visit  her  room 
to-day.  After  the  opening  exercises  are  over, 
she  may  talk  to  the  children  in  some  such  way 
as  this:  "You'll  never  guess  what  nice  thing's 
going  to  happen  to-day."  Immediately  a  number 
of  little  hands  will  signify  a  desire  to  '  'guess." 
Let  them  guess  for  a  minute.  Then  if  no  one 
has  ' 'guessed"  it,  say:  "Mr.  Smith's  coming  to 
see  us  to-day.  Aren't  we  glad?  Now  let's  think 
what  we  can  do  to  make  him  have  a  good  time. 

46 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  47 

You  know  how  he  spends  his  whole  time  going 
about  from  school  to  school  or  in  some  other  way 
doing  something  to  help  the  boys  and  girls.  So 
we  want  to  do  all  we  can  to  make  him  happy  when 
he  comes  to  see  us." 

At  once  nearly  every  child  in  the  room  will 
set  himself  to  thinking  seriously  and  many  ways 
of  "helping  Mr.  Smith  to  have  a  good  time" 
will  be  suggested. 

Possibly  at  this  point  some  child,  voicing  the 
results  of  home  influences,  may  say,  "Well,  he 
gets  paid  for  it,  doesn't  he?" 

This  will  be  an  opportunity  to  bring  out  a 
right  attitude  toward  public  service  and  public 
servants.  "Yes,"  she  may  answer,  "he  is  paid 
for  it  but,  you  know,  money  can't  pay  for  the 
thoughtfulness  and  kindness  with  which  he  is 
always  planning  and  searching  out  better  things 
for  the  children  in  our  schools,  etc." 

When  this  phase  of  the  matter  has  been  suffi- 
ciently discussed,  then  definite  plans  for  Mr. 
Smith's  entertainment  may  be  begun. 


48  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

The  teacher  should  be  careful  to  see  that  the 
children  have  their  part  in  this  discussion  and 
that  the  plan  outlined  for  "the  entertainment 
of  Mr.  Smith  "•  is  evolved  by  the  children  under 
her  guidance  and  is  not  an  arbitrary  arrangement 
by  herself.  She  should  also  be  watchful  that 
no  least,  timid  suggestion  be  overlooked  or  under- 
valued. If  some  child  suggests  something  that 
is  not  practical  or  for  some  other  reasons  can  not 
be  carried  out,  the  teacher  should  explain  the 
reasons  and  thanking  the  child  for  his  willingness 
to  help,  avoid  giving  him  a  sense  of  discourage- 
ment which  might  prevent  his  giving  expression 
to  any  other  helpful  idea  which  presented  itself 
to  him. 

The  plan,  when  completed,  might  be  something 
like  the  following.  Of  course,  this  in  only  sug- 
gestive and  may  be  enlarged  upon  indefinitely. 

Certain  definite  things  may  be  given  to  certain 
children.  For  example:  Mary  will  take  Mr. 
Smith's  hat.  John  will  get  Mr.  Smith  a  chair. 
Harry  will  give  him  a  book  if  the  class  is  reading 
when  he  comes,  and  there  will  be  other  little 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  49 

courtesies  of  which  they  will  think  which  may  be 
assigned  to  certain  ones. 

But  this  will  not  satisfy  them  as  by  this  time, 
each  child  will  feel  that  he  must  have  some  part 
in  Mr.  Smith's  entertainment. 

The  question,  then,  will  be  to  find  something 
that  will  please  Mr.  Smith  in  which  all  may  par- 
ticipate. 

By  careful  guidance  from  the  teacher,  the 
children  will  see  that  "Mr.  Smith  couldn't  be 
very  happy  if  he  had  to  sit  and  look  at  lazy,  idle 
boys  and  girls — so  everyone  can  help  in  that  way 
—everyone  can  work.  Then,  of  course,  Mr. 
Smith  will  enjoy  people  who  have  nice  quiet  feet, 
nice  quiet  lips,  people  who  are  kind  to  their  neigh- 
bors, etc.,  etc." 

The  result  will  be  that  Mr.  Smith  will  have  a 
most  delightful  visit  and  will  probably  say  so. 
If  he  does,  the  children  may  tell  him  how  they 
have  planned  to  make  him  "have  a  good  time0 
which  will  add  to  their  enjoyment  of  the  occasion. 

After   a   few   such   planned   "entertainments" 


50  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

the  children  will  perform  these  little  hospitable 
offices  spontaneously  and  naturally  and  a  visitor 
to  the  school-room  will  be  welcomed  as  cordially 
and  entertained  as  graciously  as  a  guest  in  the 
home. 

And  to  many  of  the  children  who  have  little 
or  no  such  home  training,  this  work  in  the  school 
will  open  up  ways  of  usefulness  and  thoughtful 
consideration  for  others  that  will  be  a  continual 
delight  to  themselves  and  a  source  of  joy  and 
restfulness  to  all  with  whom  they  are  associated. 


RETALIATION  OR  "GETTING  EVEN" 

The  desire  to  "get  even"  for  an  offence  imagin- 
ary, or  otherwise,  is  often  as  strong  with  little 
children  and  forms  as  great  a  problem  to  those 
dealing  with  them  as  to  those  dealing  with  the 
so-called  mature  thought. 

Tom  says,  '  'John  took  my  pencil  and  I'm  going 
to  take  his  pencil"  or  "Ben  called  me  names 
and  I'm  going  to  call  him  names,  etc."  and  it 
seems  hard  to  impart  to  Tom's  disturbed  thought, 
smarting  under  the  sense  of  injustice  and  injury, 
any  desire  or  sense  of  the  necessity  for  applying 
the  Golden  Rule. 

However,  in  this  as  in  all  other  problems  there 
is  a  right  way. 

One  way  which  has  been  tried  and  proved 
effective,  is  to  place  the  suffering  for  the  offence 
where  it  properly  belongs — with  the  offender. 

Show  Tom  that  the  boy  who  does  the  wrong 
act  is  the  one  to  be  pitied  and  that  the  one  thing 
for  him  to  do  is  to  be  sure  he  does  right  himself. 

The  little  folks  are  very  logical  in  their  reason- 

51 


52  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

ing  and  will  soon  grasp  the  truth  in  this  view  and 
will  gradually  learn  to  apply  it. 

The  following  experience  is  to  the  point. 

One  day,  a  primary  teacher,  who  was  trying  to 
use  this  method  in  her  own  work,  was  on  duty 
on  the  yard  during  the  last  part  of  the  noon  inter- 
mission. 

When  the  children  began  to  return  from  their 
lunches,  Freddie,  a  little  seven-year-old,  who  was 
not  one  of  her  pupils,  and  so  not  accustomed  to 
her  ways,  came  to  her  in  great  distress,  the  tears 
running  down  his  face,  his  clenched  hands  showing 
the  intensity  of  his  mental  disturbance,  and  said, 
between  his  sobs,  as  he  pointed  to  another  boy, 
standing  at  some  distance,  "Miss  Blank,  that 
boy  makes  faces  at  me  all  the  way  home." 

Without  seeming  to  recognize  that  there  might 
be  another  side  to  the  question,  the  teacher, 
putting  her  arm  gently  around  Freddie,  and 
looking  pityingly  at  the  other  boy,  said,  t  'It's 
too  bad,  I'm  so  sorry  for  him.  I  don't  believe 
he's  very  happy,  do  you?" 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  53 

That  was  a  new  point  of  view  to  Freddie. 
With  unfeigned  astonishment  and  a  quick,  com- 
prehensive grasp  of  her  meaning,  he  dropped  his 
arms,  dried  his  tears,  and  looking  at  her  question- 
ingly  for  a  moment,  bounded  off  to  his  play  with- 
out another  word  and  that  was  the  last  she  ever 
heard  about  the  "faces." 


A  SPELLING  METHOD 

Every  teacher  knows  that  every  child  in  the 
class  can  learn  the  spelling  lesson  assigned  him. 
She  knows  also  that  when  his  work  is  not  done, 
the  failure  is  due  in  almost  every  instance,  to 
neither  lack  of  ability  nor  lack  of  time  but  to 
lack  of  application.  The  problem  then,  is,  not 
to  in  any  way  change  the  work  given  him  or  to 
either  force  or  persuade  him  to  give  more  time 
to  it  ,but  to  find  some  way  or  ways  to  teach  him 
to  use  to  the  best  advantage  the  time  he  has,  in 
other  words  to  teach  him  how  to  apply  himself 
to  his  work.  She  will  therefore,  find  use  for  a 
great  number  of  ways  and  methods  of  keeping 
the  class  persistently  at  work  and  yet  keeping 
their  interest  from  flagging. 

One  excellent  way  to  accomplish  this  result  is  to 
have  each  child  "run  a  race  with  himself/'  They 
may  "run  races "  with  each  other  but  that  is 
apt  to  encourage  dishonesty  as  the  teacher  cannot 
give  personal  supervision,  and  may  also  bring 
about  a  kind  of  rivalry  which  would  result  in 
discord. 

54 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  55 

This  may  be  arranged  in  this  way.  Each  child 
may  have  a  little  book,  which  he  can  prepare 
himself,  made  of  several  small  pieces  of  paper 
pinned  together. 

When  the  study  period  arrives,  the  time  to 
be  devoted  exclusively  to  the  preparation  of  the 
spelling  for  the  day,  each  child  with  his  little 
book  on  the  desk  will  begin  his  study  while  the 
teacher  gives  her  attention  to  the  other  class. 

A  certain  number  of  times  for  the  study  of  each 
word  will  be  agreed  upon  as  five  times  or  ten 
times.  Each  child  will  go  over  the  whole  lesson, 
studying  each  word  the  required  number  of  times. 
When  he  has  studied  the  lesson  in  this  way  once, 
he  will  put  down  in  his  little  book,  on  the  page 
devoted  to  that  day,  one  straight  mark. 

Every  time  he  goes  over  the  lesson  in  this  way, 
he  will  add  another  mark,  thus  keeping  account 
of  the  number  of  times  he  goes  over  the  lesson. 

When  the  study  period  has  elapsed,  the  teacher 
will  walk  down  the  aisle,  stopping  beside  each 
desk  and  so  helping  each  child  compare  today's 
record  with  yesterday's. 


56  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

If  this  work  is  continued  for  a  week,  almost 
every  child  in  the  room  will  find  that  his  record 
shows  a  steady  increase  in  the  number  of  times 
he  has  been  able  to  go  over  the  lesson  and  he  will 
also  have  made  an  advance  in  the  habit  of  appli- 
cation that  will  be  worth  much  more  than  the 
mere  learning  of  the  spelling  lesson. 

In  this,  as  in  all  the  other  devices  here  presented, 
the  teacher's  enthusiastic  appreciation  of  every 
effort  as  well  as  of  avery  achievement  is  absolutely 
essential  to  right  results. 


WRITING 
A  Slow  Race. 

In  almost  every  department  of  school  work, 
the  teacher's  endeavor  must  be  to  encourage 
greater  activity — greater  speed  in  getting  accurate 
results.  This  is  the  aim  in  the  spelling  work, 
the  number  work,  and  much  of  the  other  drill 
work  that  makes  up  the  problems  of  each  day. 

In  teaching  writing,  exactly  the  reverse  is  true. 
The  tendency  with  the  children  will  be  to  rush 
through  page  after  page  of  copy-book  or  paper, 
giving  little  or  no  attention  to  the  forms  of  the 
letters.  Any  devices  which  will  offset  this  ten- 
dency, will  be  welcomed  by  every  primary  teacher. 

One  very  helpful  thing  which  may  be  used  quite 
often,  is  a  ''slow  race." 

When  the  class  have  been  given  their  writing 
materials,  books,  papers  or  whatever  is  being 
used,  the  teacher  may  say:  "We  are  going  to 
do  something  new  today — going  to  run  a  race — 
a  new  kind  of  a  race — a  'slow  race.'  ' 

Then  the  teacher  will  explain:  "I  am  going 
to  give  you  just  so  many  minutes  (five  or  ten) 

57 


58  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

let  you  all  begin  at  the  same  time  and  see  who 
can  write  the  smallest  number  of  lines  without 
wasting  any  of  the  time." 

When  the  "race"  begins,  the  teacher  will  have 
to  keep  very  careful  supervision  that  some  of 
the  children  do  not  stop  to  look  around  and  see 
how  others  are  getting  along  or  they  may  even 
stop  a  minute  to  let  others  get  ahead.  The 
teacher  will  have  to  guard  against  this  and  may 
do  so  by  having  it  understood  that  anyone  who 
is  found  not  writing  all  the  time,  will  not  be 
counted  in  the  race. 

If  this  "slow  race"  is  used  quite  often,  the 
children  will  soon  become  observant  of  the  letter 
forms — first  because  they  are  trying  to  write 
slowly  and  finally  because  they  are  interested  in 
making  them  correctly. 

When  the  time  has  expired,  the  teacher  may 
write  on  the  board  the  names  of  those  who  wrote 
the  smallest  number  of  lines. 

Or  when  the  race  begins,  the  teacher  may 
designate  a  certain  number  of  lines,  as:  "Now 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  59 

let's  see  how  many  can  write  fewer  than  three 
lines"  in  the  given  time. 

All  who  do  this,  have  "won  the  race",  and  may 
have  their  names  on  the  board. 

It  will  add  to  the  interest  if  these  names  can 
be  left  on  the  board  and  every  time  a  child  '  'wins 
the  race"  a  mark  of  some  kind  placed  after  his 
name. 

There  comes  a  time  in  older  grade  work,  when 
practice  in  rapid  writing  is  necessary,  but  with 
the  little  people  the  essential  thing  is  to  form  their 
letters  carefully  and  correctly  and  this  little 
device  will  prove  a  great  aid  in  helping  them  to 
do  this. 


"DON'T" 

"Don't"  is  a  little  word  which  might  profit- 
ably be  eliminated  from  every  teacher's  vocabu- 
lary. The  only  good  thing  that  can  be  said 
about  it  is:  "Don't  say  it"— "Don't  use  it." 

The  use  of  this  word  in  the  school-room  is  not 
so  common  as  it  was  in  the  last  generation,  but 
even  so  there  is  still  opportunity  for  wisdom  in 
"it's  disuse." 

The  kind  of  goodness  which  results  from  its 
frequent  use  is  a  negative  kind  of  goodness — 
goodness  resulting  from  fear  of  the  consequences 
of  wrongdoing  rather  than  active,  energetic  good- 
ness resulting  from  love  of  right. 

The  constant  use  of  this  word  tends  to  paralize 
originality  and  activity  if  it  does  not  cease  to 
have  any  effect  whatever.  In  correcting  wrong 
habits  or  errors  of  any  kind,  it  will  be  found  much 
more  effective  to  recommend  the  right  course  of 
action  than  to  forbid  the  wrong.  It  will  be  found 
better  to  say:  "John,  see  what  a  nice  straight 
back  you  can  have,"  rather  than:  "John,  don't 
stoop  over  your  desk  in  that  way"  or  to  say: 
"John,  see  how  still  you  can  keep  your  feet," 

60 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  61 

rather  than,  "John,  don't  make  so  much  noise 
with  your  feet." 

This  constant  use  of  '  'don't"  continually,  directs 
the  children's  attention  to  the  very  thing  which 
you  wish  to  correct,  thus,  with  those  who  endeavor 
to  be  obedient  creating  a  fear  that  they  will 
disobey  and  so  bringing  to  pass  the  very  thing 
they  would  avoid  while  with  the  careless  or  unruly 
it  serves  to  keep  the  matter  constantly  in  thought 
when  the  only  way  to  destroy  the  wrong  habit 
or  action  is  to  first  eliminate  it  from  thought. 

At  the  close  of  the  day,  if  the  teacher  has  ob- 
served ever  so  slight  an  effort  on  John's  part  to 
have  quiet  feet,  she  will  find  it  very  effective  to 
make  some  little  comment  showing  her  appre- 
ciation of  John's  effort  as:  "You  don't  know  how 
much  I  have  enjoyed  John's  nice  quiet  feet  today," 
or  "How  much  John  has  helped  us  all  today  by 
having  such  nice  quiet  feet."  A  few  such  little 
remarks  will  do  more  for  John's  feet  than  all  the 
"don'ts"  you  can  crowd  into  a  term. 

"Yes,"  someone  may  say,   "but  the  children 


62  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

should  do  right  just  because  it  is  right  and  with 
no  other  incentive/' 

True,  but  which  of  us  older  ones  has  yet  risen 
above  the  need  of  occasional  incentive  in  the  way 
of  encouragement  and  appreciative  recognition 
of  our  effort?  And  while  the  one  object  should 
be  to  teach  the  children  to  do  right  for  the  love 
of  right  only — while  that  should  be  the  bright 
and  shining  goal,  yet  there  are  camping  places 
on  the  journey  there — rest  places  where  they 
may  turn  for  food  and  drink — and  perhaps  for 
shelter  before  they  march  onward  with  renewed 
energy.  And  these  occasional  words  of  encour- 
agement from  those  we  know  love  us  and  would 
help  us,  are  such  rest  places  on  the  road. 

Many  of  these  little  ones  never  hear  an  encour- 
aging word  in  their  home  life — many  times  the 
mother  is  too  busy  caring  for  the  material  needs, 
to  think  of  this  greater  need,  and  sometimes  she 
doesn't  recognize  that  there  is  such  a  need,  so 
oftentimes  the  children  are  heart-hungry  for 
that  little  bit  of  loving  recognition  which  may 
transform  the  most  difficult  and  distasteful  task 
into  an  endless  delight. 


TIME  SAVERS 

While  we  do  not  want  our  children  to  be  '  'time 
servers"  we  do  want  them  to  learn  to  be  "time 
savers"  for  many  an  otherwise  well-equipped 
youth  has  suffered  defeat  solely  because  of  his 
inability  to  take  care  of  the  minutes — his  lack 
of  appreciation  of  their  value  and  importance. 

The  person  who  pleads  lack  of  time  as  an  excuse 
for  failing  in  certain  duties,  will  frequently  find, 
if  he  will  stop  to  consider  the  matter,  that  his 
failure  was  due  not  so  much  to  lack  of  time  as 
to  lack  of  wisdom  in  using  his  time. 

The  school-room  is  the  place  to  teach  the  value 
of  time  and  there  are  many  little  devices  that 
may  be  used  to  advantage  in  establishing  time- 
saving  habits. 

Here  is  one  that  will  be  found  helpful. 

Frequently  when  you  can  spare  a  few  minutes 
between  recitations,  two,  three  or  sometimes  even 
one,  stand  before  the  class  with  watch  in  hand 
or  directing  children's  attention  to  clock,  show 
them  with  pointer  just  where  the  minute  hand 
is  now  and  just  where  it  will  be  at  the  end  of  the 

63 


64  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

next  two  or  three  minutes  or  whatever  the  time 
you  wish  to  use. 

Then  say  to  them,  '  'Now,  I  am  going  to  stand 
here  while  you  study  spelling.  Each  one  get  a 
piece  of  paper  and  your  pencil  and  every  time 
you  go  over  the  spelling  once,  put  a  mark  on  your 
paper.  Don't  look  at  the  clock  and  when  the 
time  is  gone  I'll  tell  you  and  then  I'll  let  each 
one  tell  me  how  many  times  you  studied  it.  I'll 
tap  the  bell  when  the  time  is  gone. 

Immediately  every  child  will  go  to  work  with 
a  will — there  will  not  be  an  idle  thought  in  the 
room. 

When  the  time  has  expired  tap  the  bell  requir- 
ing every  child  to  fold  his  hands  on  the  desk. 
Then  run  down  each  line  quickly  allowing  each 
child  to  tell  you  how  many  lines  he  has  on  his 
paper.  Commend  those  who  have  done  well- 
both  those  who  have  gone  over  the  lesson  many 
times  and  those  whom  you  saw  working  hard. 
Then  point  out  to  them  how  much  has  been 
accomplished  in  these  few  minutes  and  then  drop 
the  matter. 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  65 

Do  this  as  often  as  convenient,  always  dwelling 
on  how  much  has  been  accomplished  in  the  short 
time. 

This  time  may  be  put  on  some  specially  hard 
word  or  words  in  the  spelling,  on  the  tables  or 
on  any  other  part  of  the  work  that  requires  special 
attention  and  may  in  that  way  be  made  to  do 
double  duty. 

Then  it  will  be  well  to  refer  to  these  experiences 
occasionally,  always  calling  attention  to  the  fact 
that  it  was  "only  a  minute'7  and  yet  that  much 
work  was  done. 

This  will  be  particularly  helpful  to  the  child 
who  habitually  says  or  thinks,  "In  a  minute" 
or  "Wait  a  minute." 


WELCOMING  COMMITTEE 

Many  of  the  children  in  out  schools  come  from 
homes  where  the  finer  things  of  life  are  entirely 
lacking,  and  all  the  training  they  will  get  in  these 
will  have  to  come  through  the  schools  so  the 
school  should  be  on  the  alert  always,  that  it  may 
sieze  any  opportunity  to  help  uplift. 

A  tl Welcoming  Committee"  will  be  prolific  of 
good  with  these  little  people. 

This  committee  may  consist  of  two  or  three 
members  and  should  be  appointed  Monday  morn- 
ing to  serve  during  the  week. 

The  teacher  will  have  to  use  wisdom  in  her 
appointments,  especially  at  first,  choosing  only 
those  who  have  confidence  and  are  not  afraid, 
later  the  timid  ones  may  gradually  be  pressed 
into  service. 

When  she  first  appoints  the  "committee", 
the  teacher  should  give  a  few  general  instructions 
as  to  their  duties  and  then  leave  them  free  to 
be  as  original  as  they  like,  and  she  will  be  delighted 
to  see  how  many  thoughtful,  kind,  courteous 
things  they  will  think  to  do. 

66 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  67 

The  general  directions  given  the  "committee", 
should  be  such  as  will  enable  them  to  make  any 
visitor  feel  "at  home"  and  comfortable  among 
them.  Some  of  these  will  be  to  go  to  the  door 
when  someone  knocks  or  enters,  to  offer  a  chair 
and  a  book,  take  a  lady's  parasol  and  packages, 
or  gentleman's  hat  and  cane,  etc. 

Of  course,  the  other  children  must  attend  to 
their  work  and  it  will  be  understood  that  only 
from  among  those  who  do  so,  will  the  committee 
for  the  next  week  be  appointed. 

This  will  not  only  be  of  great  value  to  the 
children,  but  will  also  be  a  source  of  great  pleasure 
and  satisfaction  to  the  guests. 


TEACHERS 

The  primary  teacher  cannot  have  too  many 
'  'devices "  for  securing  sufficient  drill  on  spelling 
and  on  the  different  number  combinations,  tables, 
etc. 

This  has  been  found  a  very  successful  method 
to  be  used  occasionally. 

Suppose  the  teacher  has  two  classes  in  the 
room,  and  one  of  the  classes  is  learning  the  tables. 
During  the  study  period  which  is  assigned  to 
this  class  while  the  teacher  is  giving  her  attention 
to  the  other  class,  much  may  be  accomplished  by 
letting  some  child  "play  teacher." 

The  teacher  should  begin  her  work  with  the 
other  class,  allowing  this  class  five  or  ten  minutes 
to  study  their  work,  tables,  spelling  or  whatever 
the  work  may  be. 

When  the  time  has  expired,  she  should  allow 
someone,  whom  she  has  seen  working  all  the 
time,  to  attempt  the  task  assigned — she  may 
suspend  her  work  with  the  other  class  long  enough 
to  hear  this  one  "say  his  table,"  "spell  his  words  " 
or  do  whatever  else  the  work  calls  for. 

68 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  69 

If  his  effort  is  a  success,  then  she  should  place 
a  little  table  in  the  front  of  the  room — by  her 
desk,  allowing  this  child  "to  be  teacher "  for  his 
class  while  she  goes  on  with  her  other  *work. 

This  " teacher*'  will  quietly  watch  the  class 
for  a  few  minutes  to  see  "who  is  working  hard" 
and  then,  by  some  sign  upon  which  they  have 
agreed  and  which  will  not  disturb  the  work  of 
the  other  class,  he  will  signify  his  desire  to  hear 
this  child  recite  the  work  he  has  been  preparing. 

In  this  way  he  will  go  on  hearing  each  in  turn, 
till  all  have  had  an  opportunity,  always  being 
careful  to  select  one  who  has  "been  doing  good 
hard  work." 

There  should  be  somewhere  in  the  room  and 
easy  of  access,  a  supply  of  books — story  books 
or  other  books  of  interest  to  the  children  and  as 
they  do  their  work  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
"teacher*'  they  may  each  select  a  book  for  him- 
self, and  devote  the  rest  of  the  time  to  his  book. 

If  any  child  fails,  he  must  go  back  to  his  work 
and  apply  himself  to  it  till  he  can  show  the  results 


70  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

of  work  in  his  recitation.  Then  he,  too,  may 
have  a  book. 

This  will  keep  the  class  profitably  employed 
while  the  teacher  is  busy  with  the  other  class 
and  will  also  be  of  great  value  in  giving  much 
practice  on  difficult  phases  of  the  work  and  in 
doing  this  in  a  way  that  will  be  a  pleasure  to  the 
children. 

The  teacher  should  be  careful  in  her  selection 
of  a  "teacher",  choosing  one  who  is  not  only 
capable  but  just,  impartial  and  independent  as 
well,  and  as  fast  as  practicable  each  child  should 
have  his  opportunity. 


THE  TEACHER'S  "HOLIDAY' 

One  of  the  mistakes  most  frequently  made  by 
the  mother  in  the  home,  is  that  of  taking  all  the 
care  and  responsibility  thus  allowing  the  children 
to  form  the  habit  of  depending  on  "Mother'' 
for  everything.  Then  when  the  children  are 
older,  the  Mother  cannot  understand  why  they 
have  so  little  regard  for  her  comfort,  remembering 
as  she  does,  how  her  one  thought  was  to  spare 
them  all  care  and  she  does  not  see  that  she  is 
but  reaping  the  result  of  her  wrong  methods. 

In  the  school-room,  the  same  wrong  method  is 
frequently  followed,  and  the  children  are  not 
taught  to  regard  in  any  measure,  the  teacher's 
rights  or  comfort. 

To  be  sure,  both  teacher  and  pupils  may  argue, 
"Yes,  but  the  teacher  is  paid  for  her  work  for 
the  children  and  it  is  her  business  to  see  that  all 
their  school  needs  are  cared  for." 

Yes,  truly,  and  it  is  for  that  very  reason  that 
it  is  part  of  her  work  for  them  that  she  endeavor 
to  teach  them  a  due  regard  and  consideration  for 
those  who  serve  them.  Many  of  the  children 

71 


72  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

will  never  learn  it  at  all  if  they  do  not  learn  it 
at  school.  Gratitude  to  public  servants  for  un- 
selfish and  efficient  service,  is  something  that 
needs  cultivation  among  our  American  young 
people. 

There  are  many  little  devices  which  the  teacher 
can  use  to  bring  out  a  better  sense  in  this  regard. 

One  of  these  ways  is  to  have  an  occasional 
' 'holiday"  herself. 

Some  morning  at  the  beginning  of  school,  she 
may  announce  to  the  children:  "I  have  been 
teaching  every  day  for  a  long  time  and  now  I 
feel  as  if  I'd  like  to  be  company  today  and  let 
someone  else  do  the  teaching." 

This  will  delight  the  children  and  they  will  all 
want  to  "be  teacher. " 

Then  the  teacher  may  select  someone  in  whom 
she  has  confidence  to  hear  the  first  recitation, 
while  she  sits  back  in  her  chair  playing  company, 
and  turning  the  school,  as  far  as  possible,  over 
to  the  children. 

She  may  select  some  other  child  for  teacher 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  73 

during  the  next  recitation,  and  so  on  till  she  has 
been  "company"  long  enough.  When  her  t 'holi- 
day "  is  over,  whether  a  day  or  a  part  of  a  day, 
she  should  tell  the  class  how  much  she  has  enjoyed 
her  "holiday"  and  commend  their  every  little 
effort  to  make  her  l  'have  a  good  time." 

If  the  children  have  been  allowed  a  good  deal 
of  freedom  in  the  school-room,  they  will  think 
of  many  little  things  to  do.  One  child  may  go 
out  and  get  her  a  drink,  another,  if  it  is  a  warm 
day,  may  offer  her  a  fan,  etc.  All  these  little 
courtesies  should  be  received  in  the  spirit  in  which 
they  are  given  and  with  a  grateful  recognition. 

If  something  of  this  kind  is  used  frequently, 
the  teacher  will  soon  see  a  marked  improvement 
in  the  children's  attitude  toward  her  and  it  will 
not  be  only  on  her  special  "holidays,"  but  there 
will  be  an  increasing  thoughtfulness  for  her  com- 
fort each  day  and  every  day. 


EXPRESSION 

Of  course,  it  is  advisable  to  have  the  children 
learn  to  bring  out  the  meaning  in  what  they 
read,  as  early  in  their  study  of  reading,  as  possible. 

The  reading  methods  of  today  in  which  much 
preparatory  work  is  done  on  the  board  and  in 
other  ways,  before  books  are  put  into  the  hands 
of  the  children  ,does  much  to  bring  about  right 
results  in  this  matter. 

And  yet,  with  all  this  drill  and  careful  prepara- 
tion, the  teacher  will  frequently  find  that  as  soon 
as  the  children  begin  to  use  their  books,  the  ten- 
dency is  to  "say  words "  and  give  little  or  no 
attention  to  bringing  out  the  meaning.  It  is 
usually  of  little  help  to  tell  the  child  to  "bring 
out  the  meaning"  or  to  "use  expression"  as  these 
interruptions  only  serve  to  confuse  and  discour- 
age him.  There  are,  however,  many  little  helps 
in  this  work  which  every  teacher  finds  for  herself 
and  the  following  are  some  such  helps  that  have 
been  proved  in  the  school-room. 

Every  day,  just  before  the  reading  from  the 
books,  it  will  be  found  helpful  to  have  a  little 

74 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  75 

preparatory  board  work.  The  teacher  may  write 
on  the  board,  two  or  more  short  sentences  formed 
from  some  of  the  longer  sentences  in  one  of  the 
paragraphs  of  the  lesson.  For  instance,  she  may 
write:  "John  had  two  apples."  Then  she  may 
ask  some  child  to  read  it,  telling  him  to  have  some 
"strong"  word  in  it.  In  reading  this  sentence, 
this  child  may  make  "John"  the  "strong"  word 
and  read  it  in  this  way:  "John  had  two  apples." 
The  teacher  should  commend  this  reading  and 
lead  the  class  to  see  that  this  way  of  reading  it, 
shows  that  it  was  not  Tom  or  Ben  who  had  the 
two  apples,  but  "John." 

Then  she  may  ask  who  will  volunteer  to  make 
some  other  word  the  "strong"  word.  Perhaps 
Henry  volunteers  and  reads  it,  making  "two" 
the  "strong"  word  in  this  way:  "John  had  two 
apples."  The  class  will  readily  see  that  Henry 's 
reading  brings  out  the  number  of  apples  John 
had — not  three  or  four — just  two. 

Another  reading,  making  "had"  the  "strong" 
word  and  bringing  out  the  thought  that  John  had 


76  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

the  apples  but  hasn't  them  now  and  still  another 
making  apples  the  ' 'strong"  word,  and  bringing 
out  the  thought  that  John  had  apples,  not  peaches, 
pears,  or  anything  else — just  apples,  will  help 
the  class  to  see  that  much  depends  on  having 
some  ' 'strong"  words  and  also  on  making  just 
the  right  words  "strong"  words. 

Then  when  the  class  turns  to  the  book  and  reads 
about  John  and  the  apples,  a  number  of  the 
children  will  apply  what  they  have  learned,  some- 
times almost  unconsciously,  and  will  so  inevitably 
put  more  expression  into  the  lesson. 

If  this  method  is  used  persistently,  the  class 
may  go  to  the  extreme  of  having  many  ' 'strong" 
words  and  "very  strong"  words,  and  will  some- 
times make  the  reading  of  a  very  simple  passage 
quite  dramatic.  But  this  need  cause  no  alarm, 
as  any  such  extravagance  will  gradually  be  modi- 
fied and  even  if  it  were  not,  it  would  be  preferable 
to  the  monotone  which  so  often  becomes  habitual. 

Another  help  in  this  work  is  to  tell  them  to 
talk"  the  reading.     It  is  not  well  to  talk  to 


.  < 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  77 

them  about  '  'expression "  as  that  sounds  big 
and  hard  to  them.  They  may  be  allowed  to 
read  a  sentence — the  sentences  for  this  work 
should  be  short — then  shut  the  book  and  "talk" 
it  to  the  teacher. 

Then  when  some  child  can  read  some  lesson 
especially  well,  he  may  be  allowed  to  take  his 
book  to  the  office  and  read  it  to  the  Principal,  if 
she  has  time  to  hear  him.  Another  time,  the 
Principal  may  be  "invited"  to  come  and  hear 
some  specially  good  reading,  and  one  or  two  of 
the  children  who  are  to  do  the  reading,  may  take 
her  the  invitation. 

Then,  by  special  arrangements  among  the 
teachers,  these  little  ones  may  be  allowed  to 
read,  occasionally,  a  well-prepared  story  to  one 
of  the  upper  grades  who  will  get  no  less  pleasure 
and  frequently  no  less  profit  from  these  occasions 
than  do  the  little  ones  themselves,  whose  sweet- 
ness and  genuine  simplicity  will  be  a  source  of 
delight  to  the  older  ones. 

Then  again,  they  may  sometimes  be  allowed — 


78  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

children  in  the  third  and  fourth  grades — to  read 
a  particularly  interesting  story  to  the  first  grade. 
These  are  only  a  few  of  the  little  helps  that 
will  make  the  reading  work  both  more  pleasant 
and  more  profitable. 


' 'SECRETS"  OR  ' 'SURPRISES" 

There  is  nothing  that  so  pleases  a  child  as  to 
"have  a  secret"  and  to  "have  a  secret  with  the 
teacher"  affords  him  the  greatest  delight. 

This  tendency  of  the  child-thought  may  be  so 
gratified  as  to  bring  about  very  satisfactory 
results. 

Some  of  the  ways  in  which  this  may  be  used 
are  here  presented. 

Suppose  the  class  in  numbers  has  been  having 
hard  work  with  some  of  the  tables — the  8's  for 
example,  say  to  them  some  morning,  "Wouldn't 
it  be  just  fine  if  we  could  all  learn  that  table  so 
well  that  Miss  Green  (the  teacher)  could  put  a 
big  red  100  on  every  paper-  Then  we  could 
put  them  up  on  the  front  board  and  ask  Miss 
Rivers  (the  Principal)  to  come  in  and  see  them. 
Wouldn't  she  enjoy  it-  Suppose  we  try  it. 
Let's  all  work  just  as  hard  as  we  can,  and  the 
first  time  we  all  have  100,  we'll  call  Miss  Rivers 
in  to  see  our  papers." 

As  soon  as  the  class  has  decided  to  attempt 
this  achievement,  Miss  Rivers  may  be  invited 

79 


80  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

into  the  room  and  acquainted  with  the  fact  that 
a  surprise  is  awaiting  her — is  preparing  for  her. 
She  may  also  be  informed  that  at  present  it  is 
a  secret.  She  may  then  be  induced  by  a  little 
outside  explanation  from  the  teacher,  to  come  in 
frequently  to  "see  if  that  surprise  is  nearly  ready  " 
and  '  'if  she  is  soon  to  be  let  into  that  secret." 

This  will  help  to  keep  the  children  enthusiastic 
and  they  will  find  all  kinds  of  ways  to  practice 
"saying  the  table. "  They  will  take  the  work 
home.  Father  and  Mother,  big  brothers  and 
sisters  with  other  members  of  the  family  will 
be  pressed  into  service  and  called  upon  "to  hear 
me  say  my  table." 

Every  day  the  teacher  will  find  a  few  minutes 
for  this  subject,  will  distribute  slips  of  paper  to 
the  class,  asking  them  to  write  the  table,  allowing 
a  certain  length  cf  time  in  which  to  do  it  and 
collecting  the  papers  at  the  end  of  that  time, 
whether  they  are  finished  or  not. 

Perhaps  the  "surprise"  may  be  delayed  by 
the  laziness  and  idleness  of  Tom  and  Kitty, 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  81 

which  results  in  their  daily  failure  to  attain  the 
standard  of  perfection.  The  class  will  soon  be 
come  awake  to  this — will  soon  recognize  what 
it  is  that  is  delaying  matters,  and  "public  senti- 
ment "  will  become  so  pronounced  in  the  class 
against  idleness  and  laziness  that  Tom  and  Kitty 
will  be  glad  to  get  to  work  in  earnest  and  so  will 
soon  bring  sufficient  effort  .to  bear  to  enable  them 
to  reach  the  required  standard. 

Then,  when  the  unbroken  line  of  "big  red 
100 V  is  displayed  across  the  front  of  the  room, 
Miss  Rivers  may  be  called  in,  told  that  the 
'  'surprise "  is  ready  and  so  "let  into  the  secret." 

Her  enthusiastic  appreciation  of  the  occasion 
will  delight  the  children  and  as  soon  as  she  has 
gone  there  will  probably  come  from  all  parts  of 
the  room,  "Let's  do  it  again,"  and  "Let's  give 
her  another  surprise." 

The  teacher  will,  of  course,  encourage  these 
aspirations  in  the  right  direction  and  various 
other  "surprises"  may  be  planned. 

In   this   way,   many   of   the   otherwise    "hard 


82  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

places "  may  be  made  a  pleasure  to  the  children. 

Other  tables,  those  that  seem  especially  hard, 
may  be  used  as  a  basis  for  these   ' 'surprises" 
and  the  manner  of  presentation  may  be  varied— 
indeed  must  be  to  hold  the  interest  of  the  class. 

One  ' 'surprise"  with  the  tables  may  take  this 
form.  When  every  child  in  the  class  can  repeat 
this  particular  table,  then  Miss  Rivers  may  be 
called  in,  the  children  may  stand,  arranging 
themselves  in  two  rows  as  for  an  old-fashioned 
spelling  match.  If  the  class  is  about  evenly 
divided  between  girls  and  boys,  it  may  add  to 
the  interest  to  have  the  boys  on  one  side  and  the 
girls  on  the  other.  Then  each  child  will  repeat 
the  " table,"  first  one  on  one  side  and  then  one 
on  the  other,  as  in  the  spelling  match.  If  a  child 
fails  to  do  it  readily,  he  may  sit  down.  When 
each  child  has  had  his  chance,  then  it  will  be 
ascertained  how  many  on  each  side  were  able 
to  stand.  But  the  object  of  the  "surprise"  will 
be  to  prove  to  Miss  Rivers  that  everyone  can  do 
it,  and  the  "surprise"  will  not  be  considered  an 
absolute  success  if  any  child  has  failed. 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  83 

This  method  may  also  be  used  in  spelling.  A 
list  of  the  words  habitualy  misspelled  may  be 
kept  and  drills  of  various  kinds  may  be  used  with 
them  and  then  when  every  child  has  mastered 
them  all,  they  will  be  ready  for  another  '  'surprise." 

Miss  Rivers  may  be  called  in  and  each  child 
in  turn  allowed  to  stand  and  spell  all  the  words, 
they  may  write  them  on  slips  of  paper,  the  teacher 
marking  the  100's  in  some  conspicuous  way,  or 
in  any  other  of  a  variety  of  ways  show  that  they 
have  mastered  these  particular  words. 

The  effort  and  the  work  required  in  preparing 
these  '  'surprises "  will  so  fix  these  things  in 
thought  that  there  will  be  no  danger  of  their 
being  forgotten  and  will,  moreover,  establish 
habits  of  persistence,  application,  industry  and 
originality  that  will  be  invaluable  to  them,  not 
only  in  all  their  school  work  but  also  in  all  the 
work  of  all  the  years  that  follow. 

This  idea  of  "secrets"  and  "surprises"  can  be 
used  effectively  in  many  other  ways  of  which 
the  teacher  will  think  for  herself. 


84  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

One  way  is  for  the  class  to  have  a  '  'secret " 
with  the  teacher  which,  when  the  preparations 
are  all  made,  is  to  be  disclosed  to  the  '  'Fathers, 
Mothers,  etc."  The  children  will  each  inform 
the  members  of  his  family  that  an  event  of  im- 
portance is  approaching  and  that  they  are  to 
share  the  secret  when  the  right  time  arrives. 
This  will  arouse  an  interest  in  the  family  and  so 
stimulate  the  child 's  activities  that  he  will  be 
able  to  bring  out  speedy  and  desirable  results. 

These  tl surprises"  for  the  family  should  con- 
sist of  exercises  taken  from  the  regular  school 
work,  and  especially  from  those  parts  of  the 
work  that  have  presented  special  difficulties  to 
the  class  or  to  any  part  of  the  class.  These  things 
should  be  dwelt  upon,  practiced  and  reviewed 
till  the  children  have  mastered  them,  then  they 
may  be  made  into  a  program  to  which  "the 
family"  is  invited. 

Perhaps  John's  weak  point  has  been  spelling. 
Then  John  can  practice  on  a  particularly  hard 
list  of  words  till  he  is  sure  of  them.  As  John's 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  85 

part  of  the  "  entertainment "  he  may  stand  in 
the  front  of  the  room  and  spell  these  words  as 
they  are  pronounced  by  the  teacher  and  nothing 
will  so  gratify  John's  mother,  who  knows  his 
struggles  with  spelling,  as  to  see  him  come  off 
victor  in  this  encounter. 

Jack,  who  has  had  to  do  good  work  to  memorize 
the  tables,  may  do  special  work  on  these,  and  so 
be  prepared  to  repeat  several  of  the  more  difficult 
tables. 

Several  of  the  most  interesting  lessons  in  the 
regular  reading  work,  may  be  read  by  children, 
who  have  worked  at  them  till  they  can  read  them 
well. 

The  "memory  gems'7  which  have  been  learned 
during  the  term,  may  be  recited,  some  in  concert 
by  the  whole  class,  and  some  by  individuals. 

The  songs  they  have  learned  may  be  used  in 
the  same  way — there  may  be  a  chorus  or  two  and 
then  ' 'solos/'  "duets,"  "trios"  etc.,  etc. 

Some  of  the  children  may  tell  stories — either 
something  they  have  found  for  themselves  or 
something  told  to  the  class  by  the  teacher. 


86  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

Many  other  helpful  plans  and  devices  for  these 
' 'entertainments*7  will  present  themselves  to  both 
teacher  and  children,  but  everything  having  place 
in  these  programs  should  be  part  of  the  regular 
school  work. 

In  this  way,  the  parents  may  become  familiar 
with  and  interested  in,  the  daily  work  of  the 
children  and  this  will  result  in  a  healthy  spirit 
of  co-operation  between  the  home  and  the  school 
besides  calling  into  interested  activity  the  child's 
best  efforts  in  all  the  lines  of  school  work. 

Programs  for  these  occasions  may  be  prepared 
by  some  of  the  class  who  do  neat,  careful  writing. 
The  teacher  may  write  the  program  on  the  front 
board  and,  giving  these  children  each  a  number 
of  papers  of  uniform  shape  and  size  allow  them 
to  make  as  many  copies  as  she  thinks  can  be  used, 
and  this  work  may  constitute  their  part  in  the 
"entertainment." 

There  are  many  other  ways  in  which  this  ' '  sur- 
prise "  method  may  be  used. 

The  girls  may  be  allowed  to  come  into  the  room 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  87 

early  some  morning  and  decorate  with  flowers 
and  greenery  as  a  surprise  for  the  boys  and  the 
boys  may  be  permitted  to  do  the  same  for  the 
girls  or  perhaps  their  manual  work  will  furnish 
something  pleasing  and  helpful  with  which  to 
surprise  the  girls. 

Sometimes  some  individual  child  may  have  a 
"  secret "  with  the  teacher  and  prepare  a  surprise 
for  the  whole  class  as  some  interesting  story,  some 
pleasing  song,  etc.,  etc. 

The  teacher,  by  a  little  consultation  and  mutual 
adjustments  with  the  teacher  of  the  class  just 
above  or  below,  may  arrange  for  one  room  to 
'  'surprise  "  the  other. 

If  it  is  approved  by  all,  principal,  teachers  and 
pupils,  these  little  ones  may  even  be  allowed  to 
prepare  a  surprise  for  one  of  the  upper  grades. 

This  kind  of  work  will  bring  about  a  spontaneity 
and  originality  of  thought  and  action  among  the 
children,  the  value  of  which  cannot  be  estimated 
and  will  also  inspire  a  spirit  of  unity  and  mutual 
understanding  between  teacher  and  pupils  which 
will  be  a  basis  for  co-operative  work  along  all 
lines,  while  at  the  same  time  it  will  secure  the 
necessary  drill  and  review  on  the  difficult  parts 
of  the  work  without  making  that  drill  irksome. 


'  'CO-OPERATION'7 

Mucn  a»  it  is  in  the  home  where  Mother  does 
everything — attends  to  everything — is  responsible 
for  everything — thus  depriving  the  children  of 
their  share  in  the  responsibilities  of  the  home- 
making  which  is  their  right  and  which  should  be 
their  preparation  for  intelligent  and  efficient 
service  in  the  world's  work — so  it  is  in  school. 

The  teacher,  forgetting  that  the  school  is  for 
the  children  and  that  a  little  work  done  by  them 
is  better  than  much  work  done  by  herself  or  that 
even  poor  work  which  is  the  result  of  the  children's 
best  effort  is  better  than  perfect  work,  the  result 
of  the  teacher's  years  of  experience — impatient 
with  their  awkwardness  or  their  clumsy  results- 
finds  it  easier  and  more  satisfactory  to  do  many 
things  herself  which  should  be  done — no  matter 
how  imperfectly — by  the  children,  thus  defeating 
in  a  measure,  the  very  purpose  of  the  school. 

Suppose    the    children's    work    is    imperfect- 
amateur — we  learn  by  our  mistakes.     * 'Experi- 
ence is  always  victor." 

The  wise  and  the  conscientious  teacher,  there- 

88 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  89 

fore,  will  always  be  on  the  lookout  to  see  how 
much  of  the  school  problem  in  all  its  varied  phases 
she  can  turn  over  to  the  children.  And  she  will 
find  as  she  does  this,  that  new  ways  will  be  con- 
stantly opening  by  which  the  work  of  the  school, 
government  and  all,  may  be  given  over  into  the 
hands  of  the  boys  and  girls.  She  will  find,  to 
her  delight,  that  in  the  degree  in  which  she  learns 
to  trust  them  and  learns  to  expect  them  to  be 
reliable  and  efficient,  in  that  same  degree  they 
will  begin  to  manifest  self-reliant  trustworthiness. 
This  will  also  develop  that  spirit  of  co-operation 
between  teacher  and  pupils  which  is  so  essential 
to  obtaining  right  results  in  any  line. 

There  are  many  ways  in  which  she  may  begin 
to  make  the  children  feel  that  it  is  their  school 
and  that  they  are  responsible  for  its  success — 
also  to  establish  a  pride  in  their  work  which  will 
be  far-reaching. 

One  helpful  way  to  begin  this  work  is  to  leave 
the  children  alone  frequently. 

If  the  teacher  has  no  excuse  for  leaving  the 


90  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

room  ,she  may  go  outside  the  door  and  stand  in 
the  hall  for  a  few  minutes.  Before  doing  this, 
she  should  tell  the  class  that  she  will  be  gone  only 
a  little  while  and  that  on  returning,  she  will  ask 
how  many  worked  all  the  time  she  was  out  and 
tried  to  do  just  as  nearly  right  as  they  would  have 
done  had  she  been  there. 

The  first  time  she  tries  this  she  will  probably 
find  that  in  answer  to  her  query  every  hand  in 
the  room  will  be  raised.  Then  there  will  immedi- 
ately follow  a  sudden  outburst  from  a  half  dozen 
indignant  little  citizens:  "Why,  Miss  Blank, 
John  had  his  hand  up  and  he  didn't  work  at  all," 
or  "John  talked  all  the  time,  Miss  Blank,  etc., 
etc." 

The  best  way  to  deal  with  this,  will  be  for  Miss 
Blank  to  answer  in  some  such  way  as  this:  "Did 
he?  I'm  so  sorry!  I  didn't  think  John  would 
do  that  way.  I  don't  believe  he's  very  happy, 
etc."-— then  give  her  attention  to  those  who  did 
do  right  allowing  them  to  tell  how  many  times 
they  studied  the  spelling  or  the  table  or  whatever 
their  work  was — pay  no  more  attention  to  John 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  91 

and  the  probabilities  are  that  the  next  time  she 
leaves  the  room,  John  will  do  his  share. 

Possibly  there  will  be  others  who  do  not  work 
and  who  do  not  raise  their  hands.  If  there  are 
those  who  do  this,  the  same  treatment  given  John 
will  usually  prove  effective  for  if  they  have  dis- 
turbed no  one,  there  will  be  no  incentive  to  further 
wrongdoing. 

The  teacher  should  give  much  attention,  how- 
ever, to  those  who  did  their  best,  referring  to 
their  work  frequently  and  calling  attention  to  it 
whenever  opportunity  offers. 

Very  soon  she  will  find  that  she  may  leave  the 
room  for  an  indefinite  length  of  time  and  the  work 
will  go  on  as  harmoniously  and  uninterruptedly 
as  if  she  were  there. 

Of  course,  this  kind  of  work  is  valuable  beyond 
price  in  helping  to  establish  habits  of  self-govern- 
ment, self-reliance  and  honesty. 

Someone  may  object,  however,  and  say  that  a 
self-reporting  system  encourages  dishonesty  and 
deception.  That  may  be  the  tendency  in  the 


92  PRIMARY  DEVICES 

beginning,  but  as  the  method  already  outlined 
is  carried  out,  it  will  be  found  to  eliminate  rather 
than  encourage  these  things. 

Many  other  little  ways  will  be  found  every  day 
by  which  the  children  can  co-operate  with  the 
teacher  and  they  will  do  it  heartily. 

Suppose  a  little  table  holding  a  bowl  of  roses 
is  to  be  placed  where  the  roses  will  appear  to  the 
best  advantage. 

It  may  be  easier  and  take  less  time  for  the 
teacher  to  place  the  table  and  have  the  roses  on 
it  when  school  begins,  but  it  will  be  more  helpful 
to  the  children  to  "talk  it  over"  with  the  class 
and  let  them  help  make  the  decision.  And  they 
will  not  only  have  an  added  lesson  in  co-operative 
work,  but  will  also  profit  by  having  their  artistic 
sense  guided  and  quickened  by  the  experience. 

Perhaps  curtains  are  to  be  procured  for  the 
windows — "talk  it  over"  with  them — discuss 
color,  style,  etc.,  and  so  make  them  feel  an  inter- 
est in  the  selection  of  the  curtains  and  a  satisfac- 
tion in  them  when  they  are  obtained. 


PRIMARY  DEVICES  93 

These  are  only  a  few  of  the  many  little  oppor- 
tunities which  every  teacher  may  use  to  advantage 
in  establishing  a  spirit  of  mutual  and  loving 
helpfulness  between  teacher  and  pupils  which 
will  help  to  make  school  days  a  joy  and  also  will 
establish  habits  that  will  be  priceless  in  the  years 
to  come. 


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